Scouring pad and filament



May 1, 1956 Filed Nov. 5, 1952 A. 1.. GENOVESE 2,743,511

SCOURING PAD AND FILAMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR ATTORNEY May 1, 1956Filed Nov. 5, 1952 A. L. GENOVESE 2,743,511

SCOURING PAD AND FILAMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR m wm BY fl zk i Locxs ATTORNEY United States P tent The present invention relates'toartificial filaments and pads and textiles made therefrom, andmorefpa'r'ti'c'ularly relates to hot meltextruded syntheticIn'onofi'lamen'ts of polyedged form, and pads and textiles madetherefrom,

Prior to the instant invention, themanufacture of artificialmo'iiofilaffients has been carried out primarily by the solventspii-ii'iing-process. The solvent spinning process produces amonofilament by spinning a :suitable material in'solution through anorifice and into aiprecipirating or coagulating bath. Mon'ofila'rnentsproduced by thesolvent-precipitating spinning process have been foundsatisfactory for certain uses, such-as artificial silk and fabrics;various types of bristles and some forms: of artificial hair. However,these heretoforez known artificial filaments aresomctimes foundundesirable aswhedthe use of sharp edges are critical, such "asfiforexample, in :a' scouring--pad. It is known that the hot melt extrusionprocess has been employed for the extrusion of various other types ofa'r'tic'lesf'but heretofore this processhas 'neverbeenutilized inIhQQYGdUCfiOlI-Fflf :a monofilament having a polyedged cross-section:=ofthe:eharacter,and in the manner hereinafter set forth.

It is an object of the present invention to provide anextrudedartificial monofilament that is formed with a plurality ofsharply defined edges.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an extrudedartificial monofilament that is twisted to simulate a plurality offilaments. p

.A still further object of the present invention is to provide ascouring pad that is fabricated from the artificial filament embodied inthe present invention.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide a fabricthat is fabricated from the artificial filament embodied in the presentinvention.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the,

instant invention will be apparent from the following description takenin conjunction With'the accompanying drawings, wherein:

' .Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic illustration of the apparatus utilized inthe process employed in' the manufacture of the polyedgedmonofilamentembodied in the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an elevational magnified view of apolyedged monofilamentembodied in the present invention having an outer diameter ofapproximately .012 to .015 inch;

Fig. 3 is a section taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an elevational magnified View of a twisted polyedgedmonofilament having an outer diameter of approximately .012 to .015inch;

Fig. 5 is a section taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4; and

Fig.6 is a view in elevation of a scouring pad in accordancewith theinvention.

The artificial monofilament embodied in the present invention is formedfrom a thermoplastic. material, such as ethyl-cellulose, cellulosenitrate, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetate butyrate or the vinylcompounds. The preferred material employed in the process describedherein is a copolymer-of Vinyl-vinylidene chloride which is morecommonly known in the field as saran. The physical properties of saranare particularly adaptable for use in the-endproducts to which thepresent invention is applied, one of which is a scouting pad such asutilized for cleansing purposes. Saran is highly abrasion re-' sistant,non-corrosive, inert, sanitary, non-toxic, tough,- strong, 'and -nonhygroscopic and can be extruded intoany desired shape'or formby the hotmeltextrusion process.

Referring now to the drawings, and-particularly Fig. 1, the apparatusemployed in-theprocess of producing-the monofilament embodied in thepresent invention is illustrated therein and includes an extru'der ll),a hopper 12 and a die '14. Pigmented, stabilized, and plasticizedthermoplastic material, preferably a copoly-mer of vinylvinylidenechloride, is introduced into the hopper 12. The extruder 1-0, whichincludes a rotating screw, forces the material through a heated cylinder'C' and through the die "14, from which'is extruded a monofilament. Themonofilament is cooled in a bath l6gand then may be oriented onapparatus (not shown) before it is wound on a package 18;

Referring now to Figs. 2 and-3, one form of the monofilament embodied in"the "present invention is illustrated therein and"=is i-ndicatedgenerally at20. Themonofilament 20 comprises a longitudinallyextendingbody portion 22'which has integrally formed therewith aplurality of fins The fins Zdalso extend longitudinally-and, as shown inFig. '3, extend'outwar dly from the body portion 22 to form flutedsections therewith. Four finsare i'llustta ted'iin :the drawings, butany-numberofnfins'may be formed: with the body: tportion; 22amaccordance :with the end product to.-be fabricated.

-:=-By. formin -the p lyedged -rnonofilament ,20s-byathe hotmeltextrusionwprocess employing the; apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1,each of the'fins 24 is sharply defined and thereby forms with adjacentfins and the body portion 22 a construction that can be utilized for avariety of purposes. If a scouring pad, such as used in dishwashing, isfabricated from the polyedged monofilament 20, it is apparent that thesharp edges formed by the fins 24 are ideal in performing the ditficultcleansing task ordinarily associated with a scouring pad. It iscontemplated that the polyedged monofilament illustrated in Figs. 2 and3 can be employed for a variety of other purposes, whenever it isfeasible to employ a single strand filament. This would include somefabrics and coverings, such as, for example, the covering for the audioportion of a television receiver. The covering of loud speakers withfabrics is more or less conventional and in some cases this covering isused for decorative purposes and in other cases functions as a screenfor protecting the apparatus which may be delicate. It is usuallyrequired that the fabric be maintained with little or no attention, thatis to say, it must be easy to clean, decorative, strong, porous and havethe appearance of strength and quality. Metal 7 ments would naturally berelatively flat. By the utilization, however, of a fluted or polyedgedmonofilament in accordance with the present invention, a highlydecorative Patented May *1, 1956 Fig. 4. It is significant that thishighly textured fabric can be made simply of a monofilament and be ofthe simplest weave so that its production can be rapid and economical.The appearance of this simply woven but unique fabric will be that of athree-dimensional construction simulating many filaments. It isfurthermore contemplated to construct the polyedged monofilament in amore rigid formation, whereby other articles, such as artificialbristles, can be manufactured.

Referring now to Figs. 4 and 5, the variation of the polyedgedmonofilament mentioned above is illustrated and comprises a twisted setmonofilament indicated generally at 30. Thetwisted monofilament 30 isformed with substantially the identical cross-section as themonofilament 20 illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3 but is twisted and set,giving the effect of a plurality of filaments and thereby adding body tothe general construction of the monofilament. It is apparent that thetwisted polyedged monofilament 30 is adaptable for use in thefabrication of a scouring pad, such as is illustrated, for example, inFigure 6, and also for use in a variety of other articles and fabrics.

The monofilaments described hereinabove have included those formed withfluted cross-sections; however, it is also contemplated to form apolyedged monofilament having a square cross-section or a cross-sectionhaving straight edges.

It is apparent that the monofilaments produced by the hot melt extrusionprocess described hereinabove have formed thereon the sharp edges thatare necessary in the fabrication of an article such as a scouring pad.The hot melt extrusion process is particularly applicable for producingthe sharply defined edges and can be adapted to produce a monofilamenthaving any number of edges as required.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and,therefore, the invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawingsand described in the specification, but only as indicated in theappended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A filament formed from a thermoplastic material comprising a bodyportion and at least three continuously and longitudinally extendingfins integrally joined to said body portion, each of said fins includingat least two sharp edges defining abrasive means.

2. A filament formed from a thermoplastic material comprising a bodyportion and at least three continuously and longitudinally extendingfins integrally joined to said body portion, said fins including atleast two sharp edges defining abrasive means, and said filament beingtwisted to simulate a plurality of filaments wound together.

3. A filament as set forth in claim 2, wherein saidthermoplasticmaterial is formed from a copolymer of vinyl and vinylidene chlorides.

4. A scouring pad comprising a mass of thermoplastic fibers, each ofsaid fibers having a body portion and at least three longitudinally andcontinuously extending fins formed integral with said body portion, saidfins being defined by edges formed with sharp corners suitable forabrasive purposes wherein each of said fibers is twisted to simulate aplurality of filaments Wound together.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,773,969 Dreyfus et al Aug. 26, 1930 2,002,153 Mendel May 21, 19352,110,371 Radford Mar. 8, 1938 2,152,826 Spencer Apr. 4, 1939 2,204,737Swallow et al. June 18, 1940 2,294,894 Draemann Sept. 8, 1942 2,434,533Wurzburger Jan. 13, 1948 2,542,973 Abernethy Feb. 27, 1951 2,601,771Cameron July 1, 1952 2,637,893 Shaw May 12, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 24,656Great Britain Nov. 14, 1904 176,323 Switzerland July 1, 1935

